To Fly Again
by Matchbox Dragon
Summary: When Steve Stronghold goes over the edge, Josie's world is shattered. Will she have another chance at happiness? Will Mr. Boy ever get the girl? One-shot for ladyisme's Josie/Jonathan Challenge.


_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Sky High or its characters, settings etc, all of which belong to Disney. _

**A/N: **This one-shot is for ladyisme's Josie/Jonathan Challenge, posted on the forum as follows:

_In the movie it is strongly implied that Jonathan Boy has carried a torch for Will's mother Josie Stronghold for a __very__ long time. So in this challenge I want to see Mr. Boy finally get the girl. The rules are as follows...  
(1) Paring __**MUST**__ be Josie Stronghold/Jonathan Boy of course.  
(2) Time line: Whenever. Thats right for this challenge you can go as far forward or back in time as need be, just make it work.  
(3) You must keep the canon. In other words you must make your story fit into the same universe as the movie, you can't create a new reality where the events of the movie never take place. Before you say impossible, remember that you have a very flexible time line to work with you can go back and make them childhood sweet hearts, go forward and make Josie widow, or if all else fails resort to an affair. I have full confidence in you, make it work.  
(4) Bonus: Bonus points will be given if you can give the reaction of Will and/or the gang on this pairing.  
(5) Due Date: (Extended to May 1st)  
(6) E-Mail Me: I must get some sort of an E-Mail to notify me of your entry so that I know that it exists and can judge it. You can either post on this forum and I'll be notified or you can send me a personal message.  
_

* * *

**To Fly Again**

They said it could have happened to any hero. The strain of constantly being on call and repeatedly saving the day only to have to start the whole process again the next day. The weight of all that responsibility on his super-strong shoulders. He certainly wasn't the first superhero to snap under all that stress, they said. There had been others who had flipped out in the end too.

But Josie knew better. The Commander had been jealous.

Jealous of his own son.

Will wasn't even out of school yet but he was already stronger than his father and the superhero community was predicting a shining future for him, even more impressive than the Commander. The media had also started to draw those sorts of comparisons after the day Will dramatically prevented an out-of-control train from colliding with two others, saving hundreds of lives.

Through it all, Steve had given the impression that he was proud of his son and happy for his achievements, but now it turned out that inside he had been a boiling pot of envy, stoked by every triumph of Will's that eclipsed him. Will kept on asking his dad if it was all right with him that he was doing so well, and Steve kept on lying.

Everyone knows that keeping things bottled up is unhealthy, and Steve definitely proved that to be true when it finally all became too much for him. Desperate to be the people's favorite hero once more, he'd set up a scenario that would require a daring rescue by the Commander. It was, in his opinion, the most cunning plan he'd ever come up with, but it had backfired horrifically. Will had only just managed to rescue the trapped citizens, and when it came to light who had caused the situation, Steve fled in panic.

The grueling 12-hour manhunt had just ended, with the fugitive finally surrendering to police custody before anyone else got hurt. Now Josie, Will and a handful of their friends were gathered at the Strongholds' house. Everyone was trying to offer comfort but no one knew quite what to say, with the result that conversation was almost non-existent.

Will's friends all appeared quite shell-shocked, and he and Warren looked a bit worse for wear, having been involved in Steve's capture. Will himself was almost in tears but he was struggling to keep up a brave face for the sake of his friends.

Warren's mother, Maria Peace, was sitting on the couch next to Josie with a comforting arm around her shoulders. She, of all people, knew what this felt like. Well, maybe _some_ good might come of this, thought Josie, if it brought Maria out of her shell a bit. She had been practically a recluse since Barron Battle was arrested, refusing every one of Josie's repeated invitations to dinner in the past two years that their sons had been friends.

Jonathan Boy was also there. He didn't say anything, but for some reason his silent concern helped to comfort her as well.

But none of it helped later that night, when everyone else had gone home and Josie was all alone in bed. She gazed up at the ceiling through tear-blurry eyes, wondering what on earth she was going to do now. There was no way she could face either superhero work or even her real estate cover anymore.

The lawyer would be bringing the divorce papers in the morning for her to sign, and that would be the beginning of her new life. Alone. Still, she was used to battles against immense odds, being a hero, and…

No, she wasn't a hero anymore, she corrected herself firmly. But where did she belong now?

* * *

It had been Jonathan's idea, and at first she had been rather wary. At that point she didn't want anything to do with the superhero world in any form, but his persistence wore down her objections in the end.

And, to be honest, she found out quite quickly that she actually rather liked teaching Unarmed Combat three times a week at Sky High. From there she expanded into also teaching courses in Computer Science and Cover Jobs. Having a job to go to, with people who looked up to her, really helped her to keep going from day to day.

However, while her new professional life was on track, she still had a long way to go with the emotional fallout. Neither she nor Will wanted to talk about it, although they both knew that they should. All that she had been able to manage was to reassure Will that it wasn't his fault his father had gone over the edge.

Warren and his mother were a huge source of comfort and support for the two of them during that first year, having an unspoken understanding of what they were going through.

But the one who really helped her pick up the pieces was Jonathan, and she was pretty sure she knew why. At first she was rather embarrassed by his attraction to her, but after a while she began to think of it as rather sweet. His nervous attempts to earn her affection were actually rather endearing, and not just because they were so different from Steve's more over-confident approach to romance. There was something about Jonathan's puppy-dog devotion that just melted her heart.

Finally, one afternoon after school, she accepted his invitation to dinner.

He was so used to her polite refusals that he couldn't believe what she'd just said. "Uh, wait, really? You mean it?" he asked incredulously, and then started to blush when he realized how inept he probably sounded.

Josie smiled sweetly. "Pick me up at 7," she said, the most beautiful words he had ever heard from her, and then she was gone.

Jonathan managed to contain himself for a whole 10 seconds after she'd left. When he was reasonably sure she was out of earshot, he couldn't wait anymore and he let out a whoop of excitement. He ran around the classroom, jumping on chairs and tables and ending up in a tangled heap on the floor, but that didn't dampen his mood in the slightest.

He couldn't quite believe it, that the princess he'd adored for so long was finally giving him a chance. At last she was seeing him as more than just a faithful friend. This was the best moment of his life, even better than when he'd been paired with the Commander…

No, he wasn't going to think about that. It was just too sad to dwell on. Without much effort, he turned his thoughts back to his beloved Josie and his fondest dream that was finally coming true.

He couldn't wait for 7 o'clock.

* * *

As soon as Josie and Will got home that afternoon, she told him the news. There was no point in putting off telling him, considering her date with Jonathan was that evening.

Will was horrified. He stared at his mother for a few minutes while his brain ran through all the implications of his mother dating Mr. Boy.

"Can't you at least wait until after I graduate?" he asked after a while, trying to be reasonable. "It's embarrassing enough as it is that everyone knows he's into you. I won't be able to show my face if they find out you guys are _dating_."

"Sometimes, Will, you are exactly like your father!" Josie scolded. "All you care about is yourself."

Will was stung, and for a moment all he could think was to defend his father. "Dad's doesn't only care about himself. He was a hero, he risked his life every day to save people."

She sighed and looked at him sadly. "Yes, he was that kind of hero once, but over time all the glory and attention went to his head. It happened so slowly that none of us really realized what was happening to him." She paused for a moment, and then went on. "But now that I've been spending time with Jonathan, it's really made me realize how pompous and self-centered your father had become."

"But I thought you loved him," Will said in a small voice.

"I did. But the man I loved is the one I used to know, not the one he is now."

Will was silent for a bit as he thought it over, and then he decided he didn't want to talk about his dad anymore. "Yeah, well, I don't see what's so wrong with me not wanting to be embarrassed by who my mother is dating," he grumbled, looking away from her.

Josie's eyes narrowed. "Hon, I don't choose your friends for you. When you wanted to be friends with Warren, I didn't stop you." He looked up at her again. "It would be nice if you treated me with the same respect."

"I guess so," he mumbled, but he didn't really mean it.

"The people who laugh at you aren't worth taking notice of, Will. It's your real friends that matter, and I think they can handle this." She tried to smile slightly. "Probably better than you realize."

"But still, I don't see why you have to rush things. He's waited long enough for you, he can wait another six months until after graduation."

"Will!" Josie exclaimed angrily, but he was already stomping up the stairs.

"Will," she repeated quietly, and he stopped at the sound of his name, but didn't turn to look at her. "When your father found out that you didn't have any powers, I defended you. I said you were a great kid. Don't make me wrong about you as well."

He didn't say anything as he carried on up the stairs. He didn't know what to say.

For the next few hours he sulkily turned the situation over in his head. Of course he wanted his mom to be happy, but what about _his_ happiness? Still, he admitted with a sigh, even more than being happy, he wanted his mom to be proud of him. And the more he thought about it, the more he realized that his reaction had been pretty self-centered.

He'd always felt sorry for Mr. Boy, how he tried so hard at everything, but nothing seemed to go right for him. Yet he never seemed to feel sorry for himself. He just picked himself up and tried harder.

Maybe it was about time he got a lucky break.

Will's thoughts were interrupted by his phone ringing. It was Warren, and they talked about arbitrary stuff for a while, although Will knew that sooner or later he was going to have to tell his friends about his mother's new relationship.

Just as the doorbell rang, Warren said, "By the way, my mother was asking how your mom's doing."

Earlier, Will would have ranted about how his mother had obviously lost her mind. That she didn't care about his feelings or the fact that he was about to be the laughingstock of the school.

Now, he looked out of his window at his mom leaving the house with Mr. Boy, and said with a small, genuine smile, "You know what? I think she's going to be all right."


End file.
